"We had seen it as a listing for about two years. Once I saw it in person, I fell in love," Cordua reminisces. "I started getting to know her intricacies and hidden features."

The centerpiece of the residence is the atrium with retractable glass roof and doors. The lounge also features a projection screen to watch movies in the evening and a water feature that enhances the serenity of the space.

Set in the middle of the home, the courtyard's doors slide to expose the house's surrounding interior. The space, Cordua says, offers a a fresh-air respite in the city center and facilitates family togetherness.

"(We are) able to completely open up the house, from the kitchen, through the atrium, to the master bedroom. Or to selectively partition it off if we're entertaining, or the grand-kids are playing early in the morning," Cordua says. "And the retractable roof lets us really take advantage of the good days in Houston to live the indoor-outdoor life. The house is so special because of the open-air component."

The 7,174-square-foot house was built in 1991 and has remained mostly the same, save for some improvements — a comprehensive kitchen remodel — and minor structural changes.

"Now that I live here, every day I'm still discovering how much of a genius the original builder, owner and designer was," Cordua said, adding that a few updates merely customized it to suit the family's needs. "Since I'm a chef, one of the first things we did was to re-position and renovate the kitchen so that it became the altar where people commune."